Yahoo Q1 OK despite missing analysts' estimates

Yahoo said it made progress toward the goals it set for itself last year and delivered a strong financial performance for the first quarter of this year, despite falling short of analysts' estimates.

Investment analysts, polled by Thomson Financial, expected Yahoo to post earnings of 11 cents per share on revenue of $1.21 billion for the first quarter of 2007, according to BusinessWeek.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $1.67 billion, a 7 percent increase from first quarter 2006. However, according to BusinessWeek, first-quarter profit fell 11 percent to $142.2 million, or 10 cents per share. Marketing services revenue rose 6 percent from the same time last year to $1.47 billion.

The company made $958 million in gross profits for a 5 percent increase from first quarter 2006. Operating income dropped to $169 million for a 16 percent decrease compared to $201 million for the same period in 2006.

Yahoo said it maintained strong profitability and cash flow and remained focused on building innovative products and services for its large and growing base of users, advertisers and publishers.

In other news from the company during an earnings call April 17, Yahoo Search Marketing announced new partnerships.

Yahoo Search Marketing and PayPal agreed to launch a new service that will help steer online shoppers through an "express checkout line." The partnership is an extension of the strategic relationship between Yahoo and eBay that the companies hope will improve its consumers' online shopping experience.

Yahoo Sponsored Search results will feature a blue shopping-cart icon linking to merchants who accept PayPal Express Checkout as a method of payment. The service is supposed to streamline the purchase process for more than 100 million PayPal customers.

In addition, Yahoo and United Online signed a multiyear agreement that will allow Yahoo to provide search and search marketing results to United Online's premier Internet brands NetZero, Juno and Bluelight.